Generally, the photoacoustic effect refers to a local change in the volume or pressure of a gas due to absorption of light. For instance, molecules of a particular gas may absorb particular frequencies of light, increasing the temperature of the molecules and causing the volume or pressure of the gas to correspondingly increase. A photoacoustic gas sensor uses the photoacoustic effect to determine properties of a gas such as its concentration or composition. In some cases, the signal from the photoacoustic gas sensor requires processing or analysis before useful information about the gas measurement can be determined.